Garment with Color Coding

ABSTRACT

A garment configured to be worn by a human includes an inner surface, an outer surface, and a color-coded size indicia. The inner surface is configured to face toward the human. The outer surface is positioned opposite the inner surface on the garment and is configured to face away from the human. The garment further includes at least one opening configured to receive a body part of the human. The color-coded size indicia is provided on the inner surface of the garment. The colored-coded size indicia is not visible from an exterior of the garment when the garment is worn by the human.

FIELD

This application relates to the field of textiles, and particularly to garments including indicia to indicate the size of the garment.

BACKGROUND

Garments are worn by humans on a daily basis. When selecting new garments for a wardrobe, a human typically visits a store and looks for a desired style of garment. Garments of different styles are often displayed on different racks within the store. After identifying a desired style of garment, the human then looks through the garments on the associated rack for the desired size of the garment. Garment sizes are typically provided in relatively small print on a relatively small tag on the inside of the garment. Unfortunately, tag location is not uniform on all garments, so the tag identifying the garment size can often be difficult to find. Furthermore, even after the tag is found, it can be difficult to read the relatively small markings on the tag that indicates the size of the garment. Moreover, some garments purposefully hide or completely omit the tag on the inside of the garment, thus making size identification for these garments even more difficult.

Garment manufacturers have utilized various strategies in the past to assist the human shopper in more easily identifying the garment size. For example, some garment manufacturers have attached large removable tags to the garment with relatively large size indicators. Unfortunately, these tags are often removed by shoppers, either mistakenly or intentionally. Once a tag is removed from the garment it is often difficult or impossible to determine the actual size of the garment. Other garment manufacturers have placed permanent size indicators on the exterior surface of the garment, thus insuring that the size of the garment can be easily identified. However, many consumers do not want to expose the size of the garment to others. This may be particularly true for garments where the size discloses something personal about the wearer, such as a bra size or pants size.

In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide a garment having easily identifiable size indicia that cannot be easily removed from the garment. It would also be advantageous if the size information for the garment could be quickly and easily recognized by a consumer shopping for the garment, but withheld from others when the wearer dons the garment. Additionally, it would be advantageous if the size indicia could be easily and inexpensively incorporated into the garment.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment, a garment configured to be worn by a human includes an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface is configured to face toward the human. The outer surface is positioned opposite the inner surface on the garment and is configured to face away from the human. The garment further includes at least one opening configured to receive a body part of the human. Colored indicia indicative of a size of the garment is provided on the inner surface of the garment. The colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the garment when the garment is worn by the human.

Pursuant to another embodiment, a garment configured to be worn by a human includes an inner surface and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface. The inner surface is configured to face toward the human, and the outer surface is configured to face away from the human. At least one opening is in the garment is configured to receive a body part of the human. The at least one opening is defined by an opening perimeter formed between the inner surface and the outer surface. The garment further includes a colored trim strip extending along the opening perimeter on the inner surface of the garment, the colored trim strip is indicative of a size of the garment.

In at least one additional embodiment, a method is provided for making garments to be worn by differently sized humans including a first human of one size and a second human of a different size. The method comprises preparing a first garment comprising an inner surface configured to face toward the first human and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface. The first garment further includes a first colored indicia on the inner surface of the first garment. The first colored indicia is associated with a first size of the first garment. The first colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the first garment when the first garment is worn by the first human. Additionally, the method includes preparing a second garment comprising an inner surface configured to face toward the second human and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface. The second garment further includes a second colored indicia on the inner surface of the second garment, with the second colored indicia being different in color than the first colored indicia. The second colored indicia is associated with a second size of the second garment, with the second size being different from the first size. Furthermore, the second colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the second garment when the second garment is worn by the second human.

The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. While it would be desirable to provide a garment that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features, the teachings disclosed herein extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a garment with color coding in the form of a bra;

FIG. 2 shows a back view of the garment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 shows a bottom perspective view of the garment of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, a garment 10 is shown in the form of a bra 12 that is configured to be worn by a woman. Although the garment 10 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 is a bra 12, it will be recognized that the garment may also be provided in any of various other forms, such as a shirt, pants, shorts, jacket, hat, etc. Colored indicia 50 that is indicative of the size of the garment 10 is provided on an inner surface 42 of the garment 10. As used herein, the term “indicia” refers to markings, components, or other indicators, whether singular or plural in number, which are used to indicate the size of a garment.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the bra 12 includes a frame 14 supported by an elastic band 16 that is configured to wrap around the torso of a woman. The frame 14 includes a front 20, a back 22, side portions 24, and two shoulder straps 26, 28. Two cups 30, 32 configured to support the woman's breasts are coupled to the band 16 on the front 20 of the frame. The cups 30, 32 are joined at the center of the front 20 by a gore 34. The shoulder straps extend from the top portion of the cups 30, 32 to the back 22 of the frame 14.

The bra 12 includes an outer surface 40, an inner surface 42, and a plurality of openings 44 configured to receive body parts of the wearer. In particular, the openings include a head opening 44 a, two limb openings in the form of arm openings 44 b and a torso opening 44 c. The openings 44 are designed and dimensioned to receive the associated body parts of the wearer and allow the wearer to don the garment 10. In particular, when donning the bra 12, the wearer inserts her head through the head opening 44 a (via the torso opening 44 c, and inserts her arms through the arm openings 44 b. As a result, the wearer's torso is received by the torso opening 44 c. Each of the plurality of openings 44 is defined by an associated perimeter 46, including perimeters 46 a-46 c, and the outer surface 40 is separated from the inner surface 42 along such perimeters 46.

The outer surface 40 of the garment 10 is configured to face away from the human wearing the garment. The outer surface 40 is substantially comprised of one or more fabric portions. The fabric portions may be comprised any of various natural or synthetic materials, including cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, blends thereof, or other materials as are commonly used in garments. In at least one embodiment, the fabric on the outer surface of the garment 10 includes elastane fibers, or other elastic fibers configured to give the fabric an elastic quality.

The inner surface 42 of the garment 10 is positioned opposite the outer surface 40 and is configured to face toward the human wearing the garment. Similar to the outer surface 40, the inner surface 42 of the garment 10 is also comprised of one or more fabric portions. The fabric portions may be comprised any of various natural or synthetic materials, including cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, blends thereof, or other materials as are commonly used in garments. In at least one embodiment, the fabric on the outer surface of the garment 10 includes elastane fibers, or other elastic fibers configured to give the fabric an elastic quality.

At particular locations on the garment 10, the inner surface 42 and outer surface 40 of the garment may be provided by opposite sides of a single fabric portion. For example, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the back 22 may be provided by a single layer mesh fabric configured to offer ventilation on the back of the garment. Furthermore, at other locations on the garment, the garment may be comprised of a multi-layer fabric structure such that the inner surface 42 and the outer surface 40 of the garment 10 are provided by different fabric layers. For example, the cups 30, 32 on the front of the bra 12 may include an inner layer and an outer layer with a pocket formed in between the inner layer and the outer layer and a molded cup positioned in the pocket.

The inner surface 42 of the garment 10 includes colored indicia 50 indicative of the size of the garment. The colored indicia 50 has a different color on different garments, depending on the size of the garment. For example, on a small sized garment, the colored indicia may be a yellow color, on a medium sized garment, the colored indicia may be a blue color, on a large sized garment, the colored indicia may be a red color, on an x-large garment, the colored indicia may be an orange color, etc.

In at least one embodiment used with certain garments a two-colored indicia may be used to indicate the size of the garment. For example, with bras, one color may be used to indicate the band size (e.g., 34, 36, 38, etc.), and another color may be used to indicate the cup size (e.g., B, C, D, etc.). Similarly, with pants, one color may be used to indicate waist size (e.g., 32, 34, 36, etc.), and another color may be used to indicate inseam size (e.g., 30, 32, 34, etc.).

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the colored indicia 50 is provided in the form of at least one colored trim strip 52 configured to engage the skin of the wearer. The trim strips 52 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, including trim strips 52 a-52 c are strips of fabric that are adhered to or otherwise attached to the inner surface of the bra 12 and extend along the substantial length of the perimeter 46 of at least one of the openings 44. Trim strip 52 a extends along the substantial length of the head opening perimeter 46 a, trim strips 52 b extend along the substantial length of the arm opening perimeters 46 b, and trim strip 52 c extends along the substantial length of the torso opening perimeter 46 c. The trim strips 52 a and 52 b have a width between 0.25 cm and 1.5 cm. In addition, these trim strips 52 a and 53 b are comprised of a fabric material that is seam-free and includes anti-chafing features to provide comfort against the skin of the wearer. For example, in at least one embodiment, the trim strips 52 a and 52 b are fabric strips comprised of a cotton and polyester blend which also includes elastane fibers that impart elasticity to the trim strip. Similarly, the trim strip 52 c that extends along the torso opening perimeter 46 c may be comprised of the same fabric with a slightly larger thickness. For example, in one embodiment, the trim strip 52 c may have a thickness between 1.5 cm and 3.0 cm.

Because of the strategic placement of the trim strips 52 on the bra 12, the size of the garment may be readily ascertained by a human viewing the bra 12 when the bra 12 is not being worn and is hanging on a rack or is otherwise displayed for sale in a store. In particular, because the colored trim strips 52 extends along the opening perimeters, the trim strips 52 are viewable on the bra 12 from numerous angles, regardless of whether the bra 12 is hanging on a rack, lying flat, or folded on a shelf. Therefore, if the human shopping for the bra 12 is aware that differently colored trim strips 52 represent different sizes of bras, the human can quickly identify the desired bra size when looking through numerous bras displayed on a rack in a store. However, once a woman dons the bra 12, the trim strips 52 engage the skin of the wearer, and are not visible from an exterior of the bra 12. Accordingly, size information incorporated into the bra 12 will not be visible to others when the bra is worn, as the colored sizing indicia 50 (e.g., the trim strip 52) is in engagement with the woman's skin and is hidden from view on the inner surface of the garment 10.

In addition to the trim strip 52, the color associated with the size of the garment 10 may also be provided on a size marker 56 on the interior surface 42 of the garment. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the size marker 56 may be a label, box, or other marker on the interior surface 42 of the bra 12 that is colored with the same color as the colored trim strip 52 and lists the actual size of the bra with alpha-numeric characters. For example, in FIG. 3, the bra 12 includes a size marker 56 that is predominantly a yellow color and includes the alpha-numeric marking “34A” to show the size of the bra 12. Accordingly, if a shopper wishes to confirm that the color on the trim strip 52 or other colored indicia for a particular bra 12 is indicative of the desired size, the shopper simply views the color coded size marker 56 on the interior surface of the bra 12 and sees the size of the garment displayed in alpha-numeric characters.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-3, in at least one embodiment, the garment 10 further includes at least one logo 58 on the outer surface 40 of the garment 10. In this embodiment the logo 58 is the same color as the trim strip 52 of the garment 10. Accordingly, in this embodiment, although the trim strip 52 on the inner surface 42 of the bra 12 is obscured from view when a wearer dons the bra 12, the color of the logo 58 is clearly displayed on the outer surface 40 of the bra 12. The color coded logo 58 on the outer surface of the garment 10 provides the shopper with an additional indication of the size of the garment. The color coded logo 58 may be particularly useful with garments where the opening perimeters are obscured from view when displayed in the store, such as a mock turtleneck shirt. However, this embodiment where a color coded logo 58 is displayed on the outer surface of the garment 10 is not limited to any particular garment. For example, the color coded logo 58 may be used in association with a bra 12 or other type of garment, as determined by the manufacturer.

In the embodiment disclosed on FIGS. 1-3, the logo 58 is the only location on the outer surface of the garment 10 that has the same color as the trim strip 52. Accordingly, the only indication of size provided on the outer surface 40 of the garment 10 is on the relatively small logo 58. Thus, the indication of size of the garment is generally muted on the garment 10 because of the relatively small size of the logo 58.

In at least one embodiment, two different colored indicia 50 are used on a single garment to indicate the size of the garment (e.g., a garment sized with two numbers or with both letters and numbers, such as with a bra size). In this embodiment, a first colored indicia of a first color is provided by the trim strip 52 and a second colored indicia of a second color is provided by the logo 58, the first color and the second color being different colors. For example, the logo 58 may be a color green color to indicate a bra band size “34”, and the trim strip 52 may be a yellow color to indicate a cup size “B”.

With reference to the above-described garment 10 of FIGS. 1-3, a method of size identification for garments is disclosed. The method involves making a plurality of differently sized garments to be worn by differently sized humans. The differently sized garments include a first garment configured for a human of a first human size, and a second garment configured for a human of a second human size.

According to the method, the first garment is prepared with an inner surface configured to face toward the first human and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface. The first garment includes a first colored indicia on the inner surface of the first garment. The first colored indicia may be, for example, a trim strip 52, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3. The first colored indicia is associated with a first size of the first garment. Because of the placement of the first colored indicia on the first garment, the first colored indicia is configured to engage the skin of the wearer, and thus the first colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the first garment when the first garment is worn by the first human.

The method further includes preparing a second garment comprising an inner surface configured to face toward the second human and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface. The second garment further includes a second colored indicia on the inner surface of the second garment. The second colored indicia may be, for example, a trim strip 52, as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-3. The second colored indicia is different in color than the first colored indicia and is associated with a second size of the second garment, with the second size being different from the first size. Because of the placement of the second colored indicia on the second garment, the second colored indicia is configured to engage the skin of the wearer, and thus the second colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the second garment when the second garment is worn by the second human.

The foregoing detailed description of one or more embodiments of the garment with color coding has been presented herein by way of example only and not limitation. It will be recognized that there are advantages to certain individual features and functions described herein that may be obtained without incorporating other features and functions described herein. Moreover, it will be recognized that various alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements of the above-disclosed embodiments and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different embodiments, systems or applications. Presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the appended claims. Therefore, the spirit and scope of any appended claims should not be limited to the description of the embodiments contained herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A garment configured to be worn by a human, the garment comprising: an inner surface configured to face toward the human; an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface on the garment, the outer surface configured to face away from the human; at least one opening configured to receive a body part of the human; and colored indicia provided on the inner surface of the garment, the colored indicia indicative of a size of the garment, wherein the colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the garment when the garment is worn by the human.
 2. The garment of claim 1, the at least one opening defined by an opening perimeter formed between the inner surface and the outer surface, wherein the colored indicia is a colored trim strip extending along the opening perimeter on the inner surface of the garment.
 3. The garment of claim 2, the at least one opening including a first limb opening, and a second limb opening.
 4. The garment of claim 2, the at least one opening including a head opening.
 5. The garment of claim 2, the at least one opening including a torso opening.
 6. The garment of claim 2 wherein the colored trim strip is configured to engage the skin of the human when the garment is worn by the human.
 7. The garment of claim 2 wherein the colored trim strip is comprised of an elastic material.
 8. The garment of claim 7, the at least one opening includes a first limb opening, a second limb opening, and at least one additional opening, wherein the colored trim strip includes a first colored trim strip extending along the opening perimeter of the first limb opening, a second colored trim strip extending along the opening perimeter of the second limb opening, and a third colored trim strip extending along the opening perimeter of the at least one additional opening.
 9. The garment of claim 1, wherein the garment is a bra.
 10. The garment of claim 1 wherein the colored indicia is a first indicia of a first color, the garment further comprising a second indicia of a second color, the second indicia also indicative of the size of the garment.
 11. The garment of claim 10 wherein the second indicia is a logo.
 12. A garment configured to be worn by a human, the garment comprising: an inner surface configured to face toward the human; an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface on the garment, the outer surface configured to face away from the human; at least one opening configured to receive a body part of the human, the at least one opening defined by an opening perimeter formed between the inner surface and the outer surface; and a colored trim strip extending along the opening perimeter on the inner surface of the garment, the colored trim strip indicative of a size of the garment.
 13. The garment of claim 11 wherein the colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the garment when the garment is worn by the human.
 14. The garment of claim 11 wherein the color on the colored trim strip is also provided on a logo on the garment.
 15. The garment of claim 14 wherein the logo is provided on the outer surface of the garment, and the color of the colored trim strip is not provided in any location on the outer surface of the garment other than the logo.
 16. The garment of claim 11 further comprising a size marker on the interior of the garment, the size marker colored with the same color as the colored trim strip.
 17. The garment of claim 11 wherein the garment is a bra.
 18. The garment of claim 11 wherein the at least one opening includes two limb openings with associated opening perimeters, wherein the colored trim strip extends along the two limb openings on the inner surface of the garment.
 19. A method of making garments to be worn by differently sized humans including a first human of one size and a second human of a different size, the method comprising: preparing a first garment comprising an inner surface configured to face toward the first human and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface, wherein preparing the first garment includes providing a first colored indicia on the inner surface of the first garment, the first colored indicia associated with a first size of the first garment, wherein the first colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the first garment when the first garment is worn by the first human; and preparing a second garment comprising an inner surface configured to face toward the second human and an outer surface positioned opposite the inner surface, wherein preparing the second garment includes providing a second colored indicia on the inner surface of the second garment, the second colored indicia different in color than the first colored indicia and associated with a second size of the second garment, the second size different from the first size, wherein the second colored indicia is not visible from an exterior of the second garment when the second garment is worn by the second human.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the first colored indicia is a first colored trim strip extending along an opening perimeter on the inner surface in the first garment, and wherein the second colored indicia is a second colored trim strip extending along an opening perimeter on the inner surface in the second garment. 